In Twilight Till Dawn
by SopranoWithAnIdentityCrisis
Summary: Luna Lovegood is frustrated with her faction, which fails to accept the unfathomable. She is also frustrated with the fact that the factions always separate friends from one another. But if Luna knows her friends, they won't let that happen- even if it means they can't play entirely by the rules. (Random idea I had in the middle of the night. I wonder where it'll go?)
1. Chapter 1

Luna Lovegood looked with dismay at the essay she'd just gotten back, which was marked with a C in yellow ink. "But I organized all the facts just the way the instructions said."

"Yes, you organized it well enough," the writing teacher, Caitlin Deleon, told her with a sigh. "Luna, you are a very good writer and you followed the instructions just so. This earned you a C instead of an F. But you cannot simply come up with your own species and write a paper on it. This was clearly stated at the beginning of the week, when we started this project."

"I didn't come up with the Gulping Plimpy!" Luna protested. "There is an infestation of them in the drain pipes of my bathroom sink. Everything in the paper came from my own personal observations... and experiences, which were quite nasty, really "

"I'm sorry for your nasty experiences," Caitlin replied, a little sarcastically. "But I'm afraid your grade stands- unless you would like to write another paper and not count this one," she offered, reconsidering. She really did like Luna, even if she did blur the line between her daydreams and reality- much too often for an Erudite, one might add. "Take this home- I won't file it until you decide what you want to do. But do decide quickly, Luna- the aptitude tests are at the end of next week."

Luna sighed, but nodded. "Okay. I'll write a new paper. Thank you, Mrs. Deleon."

 _This is typical,_ she thought as she left the classroom. Erudites were usually very unreceptive to things outside of textbooks, that was what her father always told her. And Mrs. Deleon had been born in Erudite and elected to stay there on her Choosing Day. Luna already knew what she would choose- she'd talked with her father about it on multiple occasions. He had been born in Candor, chosen Erudite, and had regretted it ever since. Luna herself was naturally honest, sometimes uncomfortably so, though she always meant well. Xenophilius Lovegood had allowed his daughter to come to this conclusion on her own, and once he knew she was sure had expressed his complete approval and support.

Maybe that was why all her friends at school were from different factions. The only Erudite friend she had was her next-door neighbor Lily Raymond, but Luna was of the opinion that Lily would end up in Amity, so she didn't really count. Lily didn't mind the studying, but what she really loved was music, and that coupled with how she could get along with just about anyone definitely suggested Amity.

Lily had stopped outside the classroom to wait for her, along with Neville Longbottom, another of her friends she was sure would choose Amity. He was from Dauntless, but Luna knew he was afraid of their initiation, even though he wasn't allowed to talk about it. He wasn't generally a nervous person, though very reserved, so he was a potential Dauntless, but given his horror at the thought it was highly unlikely.

"You all right, Luna?" Neville asked as they started for the lunchroom.

"I'm sorry about your grade," Lily added, slipping an arm through hers. "I thought the paper was wonderful. And very accurate, I might add." She laughed ruefully, rubbing her nose which still looked slightly bruised.

Luna smiled and nodded. "Fine, thank you, Neville," she replied truthfully. She really didn't mind so much having to write another paper- writing was a form of art, after all. "And I am sorry about your nose, Lily."

"Well, I did offer to help," Lily reminded her. "It wasn't your fault the venom made you punch me."

Neville looked at Lily as if he was concerned for her health. "Venom made her punch you? What?"

"Of course!" Luna laughed lightly, waving her paper at him. "It's all in here. The Gulping Plimpy is really a very interesting creature. It does get a little vicious, though."

Neville's concern quickly turned into alarm at that. "Luna? Don't tell me one bit you!"

"It did. Twice." Luna rounded the corner with a small skip, her mood already much improved. "The first time my arm just puffed up like a balloon- my left sleeve is still a bit too tight- and the second time I punched Lily in the nose and then apologized ten times exactly. But all that felt rather dreamlike so I knew it was the venom."

"You need to be more careful, Luna," Neville told her seriously, holding the door open for her and Lily. "You may run into something dangerous someday if you go on like this."

Luna laughed again, one of her silver laughs that Neville secretly loved hearing, as she slipped through. "If I do Padma will take care of it. But I will be more careful next time," she added, knowing he was genuinely worried for her safety.

Neville nodded, satisfied. "Thank you."

The three of them picked up their lunches from the counter and found their seats. The six others in their usual group were already there, in various conversations and/or arguments.

Abnegation Hermione Granger was in a heated discussion with Candor Parvati Patil over whether or not learning algebra was necessary if you weren't going to be an engineer. Hermione, who showed strong preference for Erudite, was taking the affirmative side, of course. Parvati's twin sister Padma was explaining to Ginny Weasley how a Dutch braid worked, and Amity Harry Potter was enlisting Ron Weasley's help in predicting what factions their group would end up in, which seemed to be a popular topic among the sixteen-year-olds in general.

"Everyone's going to choose next Friday and leave me behind," Ginny complained as soon as the conversation quieted enough for her to be heard. "Who am I going to talk to or sit with at lunch?"

"You'll find someone," Ron assured his younger sister, ruffling her hair.

"But I'll have to start all over again!" Ginny pouted, leaning her head on Padma's shoulder. "It just isn't fair that all my friends are a year older than I am. Padma, can't you age me by ten months?"

"Doesn't work that way." Padma smiled sympathetically. Her ambition was to be a doctor, she was already certified in first aid, and people were always teasingly (and occasionally seriously) asking her for various remedies and potions. "But hey, at least it's only a year. Then you'll get to go wherever you like."

"I'll get to live in a faction," Ginny added. "The closest I've come to that is sleepovers."

The Weasley family was factionless for a reason that had never been confirmed by any member of that family. The most common rumor was that Arthur and Molly, their Abnegation-born parents, had dropped out of Dauntless initiation, and quitting initiation made you automatically factionless. Of their seven children, five had already had their tests and Choosing Days. One, Percy, had chosen Erudite, and the other four- Bill, Charlie, and the twins Fred and George- had chosen Dauntless. Ron had confided in their little group that he was trying to decide between Dauntless and Amity- no matter what the test said, he would pick one or the other. Ginny, even more firey than her brothers, had had her heart set on Dauntless since she was old enough to understand how the factions worked.

"I need to introduce you to my sister," Harry put in before Ron could say something insulting to Ginny's intelligence, as he usually did when she brought up their living situation. "Or rather one of my several sisters. Abigail would love to meet you."

"Amity girls giggle too much," Ginny announced, and promptly stuffed half a biscuit in her mouth so as not to have to answer protests against her statement. None were forthcoming, however, so she swallowed the biscuit and added, "Maybe Abigail isn't as bad as most of them though."

"She isn't,. Harry assured her. "I'll get her to sit with us tomorrow if that's all right."

"It can't hurt, I suppose," Ginny conceded finally.

Various conversations started up again, but Luna said nothing. She focused her attention on the table, trying to imagine the layout of the painting she'd been planning. Then she looked back up and glanced between the smiling faces around her.

With such good friends, she knew the painting would be beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

"All right, this meeting is officially underway!" Hermione announced.

It was the Wednesday before the Friday of aptitude tests, and the group were having their weekly meeting at the Potters' house after school. They were all gathered in the living room, which was the only room in the house with enough space for nine of them. Three of Harry's sisters were playing cricket with no apparent rules with their father on the front lawn, and the youngest, two-year-old Sylvia, was asleep in her room, thereby leaving the house mostly empty so they could talk in relative peace.

"I move we discuss plans for after Choosing Day," Parvati spoke up immediately. "I mean, we're probably all going to different factions, so we've got to figure out how to keep meeting when none of us go to school anymore but Ginny."

"I move we all choose Dauntless!" Ginny piped up, ignoring the fact that that idea had been vetoed many times.

"Denied!" shouted five voices.

"If we were all to choose somewhere it would have to be Amity," Padma corrected. "Or possibly Abnegation."

"Who wants to go to Abnegation?" Hermione scoffed. "No offense to you, Padma, but honestly I'd rather live anywhere else."

"No, you wouldn't," said Ron darkly.

Lily broke the awkward silence following Ron's comment. "I move we meet up on Friday evening and discuss our tests and what we're going to choose."

"That's not allowed," said Hermione immediately.

"No one cares," Ron informed her loftily. "Except maybe you, _Hermione._ "

Hermione imitated Ron's tone perfectly. "Some people have no respect for rules, _Ronald_."

Ginny giggled and proclaimed, "Ron and Hermione sitting in a tree..."

Everyone burst out laughing except for the aforesaid pair, who both started shouting, "Ginevra Molly Weasley-"

"A-R-G-U-I-N-G!" Ginny finished with a smirk. This time Ron and Hermione had to laugh.

"She's right, though," Luna put in once the giggling had died down. "It can't hurt just to tell each other. We can all keep secrets."

"Yes, we can," Neville agreed.

Seeing the nods from the rest of the room, Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Well, if the rest of you are going to I suppose I will, but if anyone catches us it's all your fault."

Harry shrugged. "Fair enough. Now, I move we talk about something other than aptitude tests. That's all I've been hearing for the past week."

"I move we eat cookies," said a new voice, and everyone looked up to see Lily Potter standing in the door with a plate in her hand. "I just baked them. Help yourselves."

The cookies quickly disappeared amid a chorus of "Thank you, Mrs. Potter!" and the meeting resumed, even Hermione in much better spirits. Harry's mother had both a talent and a love for all things hospitable, and her baking was no exception.

Having finished his cookie first, Neville raised his hand. "I move we hold the next meeting at Luna's house- that is, if it's all right with you, Luna- so we can see her new painting."

All eyes went to Luna, who blushed slightly at the attention, but nodded. "Yes, that's all right."

"Motion passed," Hermione declared magnanimously. She enjoyed keeping their meetings official, which the others allowed because it was amusing. "Now-"

"I move we play Spoons," Ginny interrupted. "We've had enough proceedings for one evening. Anyone second that?" Harry, Ron, and Parvati's hands shot up at the same time, closely followed by Neville, Luna, Padma, and Lily.

"Motion passed."

Harry found a box of plastic spoons in the kitchen, while Hermione dealt the cards into precise, neat piles, and Ron and Neville rearranged the furniture so they could all sit on the floor in a circle. After a bit of a disagreement over how many spoons were supposed to be in the middle, the game began.

About halfway through they were joined by fourteen-year-old Abigail, who had come in to see what all the racket was, and from then on the rest of the Potters appeared at almost regular intervals, which Hermione noted with interest. Elizabeth had come to see what was taking Abigail so long, Annella wanted a drink, and James, who had been looking for his ball, realized his daughters were inside and followed them. Sylvia appeared a minute later, announcing in her adorable lisp that "'Nella thaid Mummy made cookieth."

They played several rounds, usually resulting in victory for Ginny, who obviously had the reflexes of a cat. Sylvia was always the first one out, at which she proclaimed, "No thpoon, no thoup!" with a triumphant look at her mother, who had to continuously remind her that they weren't going to use the same spoons for dinner. Abigail had ended up next to Ginny and managed to start up a conversation with her while they were playing, and Harry surveyed them with satisfaction.

Finally James stood up. "I hate to break up the party," he told the teenagers with a grin, "but it's a school day tomorrow and we've got dinner to deal with."

" _Down the swift dark stream you go,"_ Abigail insterted, singing a line from an old song that had something to do with a book Luna had read once. She couldn't remember which one it was, but the Amity must have liked it- they sang the song for goodbyes fairly often. It fit perfectly because Amity was the northernmost faction, so they all had to go south to get home.

 _"Back to lands you once did know,"_ Lily supplied the next line. Abigail joined in again, and they harmonized the last two lines. " _South away and south away, seek the sunlight and the day._ _"_

"Shortened version," Abigail added. "For when we can't sing the whole thing. Mum wouldn't appreciate it if we sang the whole song and delayed everyone."

"We mustn't take up the Potters' time," Hermione agreed. "Let's get home."

Ron pointed at her accusingly. "You're acting Abnegation!"

"Shut up, Ron," Hermione growled.

"Now that's the Hermione we all know and love," Ron informed everyone, which of course prompted more laughter.

After saying their goodbyes and thank-yous to the Potters, which took another five minutes especially since Ginny and Abigail were making plans to have their own meeting next week, the group practically sprinted to the train station, making it just in time to catch the last southbound train. Most people were already home by now, so they had the car to themselves.

In just a few minutes they reached the Abnegation stop, where Hermione and the Weasleys got off. Ron and Hermione had somehow found something else to argue about and were doing so as the train continued on, Ginny trailing behind them and looking very amused. Candor was next, then Erudite, which left only Neville on the train when it started up again.

Without the girls (translation: Luna) distracting him, Neville's thoughts turned toward the aptitude test. He had no idea what the results might be, or what he would choose either. He had, of course, asked his parents for advice, but they had told him that they couldn't make the decision for him, which was not the most helpful thing they could have said. Dauntless didn't seem quite right to him, but none of the other factions did either.

He would just have to wait until tomorrow, see what the test told him, and decide based on that. If he could.


	3. Chapter 3

At exactly six o'clock on Friday evening, the Lovegoods' doorbell rang.

"Who is it, Luna?" her father called from his study. He was writing his thesis on Nargles, which he hoped would get him a place in a scientific publishing company. At the moment he was an editor for the government, which he was good at, but cryptozoology far outweighed grammar in his priorities.

"It's my friends from school," Luna replied, flying out from the kitchen where she had just taken her chicken, potato, and pepper casserole out of the oven. She did most of the cooking since Xenophilius had no talent for it whatsoever. "Hermione must have rung, it's exactly six," she added as she opened the door.

Her friends, minus Ginny, filed in, leaving their shoes on the porch- Luna's father preferred that no chemicals from the roads end up in the house- and found seats around the table in the kitchen. They had all agreed that Ginny should stay home from this meeting, as she was not yet sixteen and this way the evidence of their not-quite-allowed discussion would leave with them. Ginny had not been happy, but Fred and George had offered her a tour of somewhere "secret and surprising," which made the deal sweeter on her side. Once they were all settled with plates of casserole and mugs of Earl Grey tea, the Lovegoods' normal drink for dinners, Hermione got down to business as usual.

"All right. Luna, you're sure it's safe to tell secrets here?"

Luna nodded. "Of course. Daddy wouldn't tell anyone- only I'm afraid he might let it slip by mistake- but he'll be in his study. He says too much chatter lets the Wrackspurts in his brain and we can't have that, can we?"

Hermione looked not entirely satisfied, but didn't protest. "All right. Who volunteers to give their report first?"

"Hermione, you make this sound like a class," Ron scolded.

When no one volunteered, Hermione stood up again. "I can go first if nobody else wants to. Oh blast, there I go acting Abnegation again!"

"You don't think it's good to be selfless?" Parvati queried from behind her mug.

"I do, but I don't want to be conditioned by where I live," Hermione replied coolly. "I want to think for myself without having automatic responses. In any case, I'll start. Everyone was told to choose between the knife and the cheese, correct?" Everyone nodded. "I chose the knife because the whole thing felt suspicious and I thought I might have to defend myself. Then the cheese disappeared and a dog was growling at me. I knew that dogs feel challenged if you stare at them, so I crouched down and looked the other way-"

"I just killed it," Ron put in. "Because it charged me."

"Ahem," said Hermione without missing a beat. "Then the dog stopped growling and sat down. Then there was a little girl, and the dog looked like it was about to pounce, so I told her to stand still and stop looking at the dog. She did, and then the whole thing disappeared and I was on a bus. There was a man with a newspaper and he asked if I'd seen a murderer. I said no because I felt like I knew the person on the paper- I can't remember what he looked like- and also like something would happen to me too if I told him. Then the whole thing disappeared again and I was in a library. I found a textbook on the tests, because then I remembered I was in one and there might be useful information in the book. But before I could read it I woke up." She sat down and looked around the table. "Who's next?" Again no one volunteered, so she pointed at Luna.

Luna looked startled, but obediently started talking. "Mine was a lot the same as yours, only I fed the dog cheese. I did tell the girl not to look at it. And I told the man on the bus that I knew the murderer. I knew if he arrested me I'd be fine because I really had nothing to do with it. So he asked me a few questions about him, but I didn't know any of them, only that I'd seen him on the train several times. Then he asked me if I had a pet and I said yes, I had a Blibbering Humdinger, and described it to him. Then I was at school and we were playing truth or dare at lunch, and I chose truth and told it... and that was all."

Lily and Padma looked like they were on the verge of asking what the question had been, but Hermione pointed at Harry before they could. "Harry, go."

Harry cleared his throat. "All right. So like Ron said I killed the dog. It was obviously going to attack me!" he protested at the girls' horrified looks. "Anyway, I killed it. Then the thing with the bus happened, and I didn't tell him anything- but it was a little different this time. He told me the truth would save him. But I still didn't trust him so I said I didn't know. Then I was in a train about to crash, and the only way to get off was to jump off the tracks onto a roof. I jumped, and that was all."

"Mine was just about the same," said Ron, before Hermione could call on anyone else. "Only I sort of got into a fight with the guy on the bus- don't start!" he ordered Harry, who was snickering. "He just wouldn't stop pestering me so I punched his arm and then he jumped on me. Then it went to the roof thing."

"Mine was the same as Harry's too," Parvati put in. "Only Padma was on the train with me and she'd hurt her leg and couldn't jump. She was scared and asking me to stay with her- she said there was a better chance of us living if we stayed in the train. I was going to find the emergency brake, but there was no time, so I carried her."

"Off the train?" asked Ron in bewilderment. "How'd you jump that far while carrying Padma? I barely made it by myself!"

"What should I have done?" Parvati retorted. "We would have died anyway if I hadn't, and I wasn't about to leave her."

Padma stared at her twin in confusion. "Mine was completely different. I chose the cheese because I didn't want to fight anyone, and then I threw it across the room and the dog chased it. Then there was the girl, but the dog was still finishing the cheese, so I told her to come close to me. The dog finished and growled at her, so I picked her up so she was out of the dog's reach. I didn't think it would attack me since I had fed it. Then there was the man on the bus, and I didn't tell him anything because I didn't trust him. Then two people I didn't know, I think they were factionless, were in a fistfight, so I stepped in between them and told them to stop. One of them had a broken nose and so I set it. Then I stayed until the other one left."

Hermione, who had been taking notes through the whole conversation, nodded. "All right. Lily, go."

Lily jumped at being addressed so abruptly. "Okay. So mine went pretty much like Padma's, only I ran away while the dog was eating and took the little girl with me. She disappeared as soon as I went out the door. Then it went the same until the fistfight. I stopped them from fighting but I was going to take the hurt man to the hospital because I didn't know what I should do. The other one came after us, but I called for security and he ran off."

Neville, who had become increasingly bewildered and embarrassed throughout the stories, realized everyone was now looking at him. He was the only one who hadn't spoken yet.

"Well?" Hermione prompted.

"Well... er..."

"It's all right if you killed the dog, Neville," Luna assured him. "It was dangerous."

Neville cleared his throat. "I didn't."

"What happened then?" Harry asked curiously.

Neville took a deep breath. "Okay. So I didn't choose anything- I didn't know what I'd need either a knife or cheese for so there was no obvious decision. They both disappeared and the dog came at me. It jumped, I dodged, and then it just sat there. Then the little girl came and the dog was about to charge her, so I tackled it, and then the whole thing disappeared. The bus situation happened, I didn't tell him anything, and then there were the people in a fistfight. I ended up fighting the second man, and somehow knocked him out, and then took the hurt one to the hospital."

Hermione wrote something down. "Was that all?"

Neville shifted uncomfortably. "No."

"It's all right," said Luna again. "We won't tell."

"I was on the train with Luna," Neville said finally. "She was hurt like Padma was in Parvati's test, and I knew I'd never make it to the roof carrying her."

Ron gave him an impatient look. "What did you do?"

"I threw Luna."

Parvati looked stunned. "You threw Luna. Leaving yourself on the train. Did it crash?"

"I don't know. I jumped after Luna, but I don't know whether I made it or not, because I woke up first."

No one knew what to say to that, and so Luna broke the silence by announcing, "I made lemon pie for dessert, I'll go get it."


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone looked at each other silently, Neville turning slightly red and Hermione studying her notes, until Luna returned with the pie. "It's very quiet in here," she remarked nonchalantly as she sliced it.

Hermione looked up from her paper. "So I got Erudite. Luna got Candor, Harry, Ron, and Parvati got Dauntless, Padma and Lily got Amity. I don't know what Neville got, I'm still trying to figure that out."

There was dead silence before everyone started asking at the same time how Hermione had known their results.

"All right, quiet, I'll explain!" Hermione shouted, holding up her hands. When the clamor died down, she looked at her notes and cleared her throat. "The simulation is a logical process of elimination."

"In English," Ron suggested.

Hermione ignored him. "Your choices are supposed to rule out factions. So Amity was out when I chose the knife, Dauntless when I didn't kill the dog, Abnegation when I didn't defend the girl, and Candor when I lied on the bus. The library was just a confirmation." There were nods around the table as everyone connected the dots in their own simulations.

"What about Neville?" Luna asked after a second.

Neville shook his head. "The woman in charge didn't say anything, just that it was over and I could go. She didn't look very happy about it. I asked her what the result was and she said she didn't know and to leave. So I did."

Hermione read over the last and longest section of her notes. "So you chose neither the knife nor the cheese, which rules out nothing. You didn't think about the situation, just acted on instinct, which rules out Erudite. Then you defended the girl, which suggests Abnegation. You lied on the bus, which rules out Candor, but then continued to lie when the man said the truth would save him, which takes Abnegation back out. How, exactly, did you break up the fight?"

"I got in between them, but the attacking one just pushed me away," Neville replied. "I tried talking to him but he wouldn't listen. Then I fought him."

"All right." Hermione wrote that down. "So you tried to break up the fight peacefully, suggesting Amity, but ended up fighting the other man, suggesting Dauntless. You then stayed to help the injured man, which is again Amity. Then you threw Luna off the train, which brings Abnegation back in, but then jumped without even seeing the roof, which is Dauntless again. So I'd say you got Abnegation, Amity, and Dauntless."

Lily raised her hand. "How can he have gotten three results? Isn't that the point of the test, to figure out which faction you fit into?"

"Evidently," said Hermione, "the test didn't work on Neville. Also, I don't think I was supposed to know how the test worked. I just wrote everything down and figured out where the patterns were."

"So what is everyone going to choose, if you know?" Harry interrupted. "Sorry, Hermione, but none of us is up to trying to figure out how you figured out how the test worked."

"None of us _are,_ " Hermione corrected.

"All _right_ ," Harry sighed. "I'm choosing Dauntless."

"Debatable," Ron added. "Mum and Dad dropped out of Dauntless initiation, but on the other hand all my brothers but Percy were Dauntless and they all made it. I'll probably choose Dauntless, I'm just not quite sure yet."

"Same here," said Parvati. "I'd like to choose Dauntless, but I don't want to leave Padma. I also don't want her to come to Dauntless with me, because I know she could only be a doctor in Amity."

"You know you need to stop taking me into account in your choices," Padma scolded. "If I choose what I want, you have to choose what you want. Go on to Dauntless. We'll stay in contact. And we can visit each other once initiation is over. We have talked about this so many times you should have stopped second-guessing yourself a long time ago." This commanding, scolding tone coming from gentle Padma made everyone smile. Sometimes even the Patils forgot that she was the older twin since Parvati was the natural leader.

Parvati laughed and ruffled Padma's hair, which she straightened with a resigned expression. "Okay, little sister, you got me. I'll go to Dauntless. But you have to go to Amity."

"I am. And Lily's going to Amity too, right?" Lily nodded, and Padma continued, "Also, _you_ are _my_ little sister. Everyone knows I'm older."

"Yes, but I'm taller," Parvati shot back. "So I'm your big little sister and you're my little big sister."

"That isn't how it works. But let's get back on topic," Padma suggested. "Hermione, what are you choosing?"

"Don't be shocked," Hermione cautioned, looking specifically at Ron, "but Erudite."

"No one is shocked," Ron informed her. "No one at all, Hermione."

Hermione looked insulted. "Just what are you implying, Ronald?"

Ron held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not implying anything! You're just so, y'know, bookish."

Hermione was apparently satisfied by this explanation. "All right then. Luna and Neville?"

Both the addressed persons spoke at the same time, stopped, and waited for the other to go first. Finally, Luna took the initiative. "I'm choosing Candor."

"I don't know," said Neville. "I didn't get a result, exactly. I need time to think."

"Don't worry about your results," Luna advised. "Ignore the test and just decide where you yourself think you should be."

Neville nodded. "All right, I will."

"Now," Ron put in, "I move we eat pie."

Luna glanced at the pie, which she had finished slicing and then forgotten about, and laughed. "Of course. Plates, please, before the Nargles decide we're taking too long and _they_ want the pie!"

Xenophilius's head popped around the door frame. "Did you say Nargles, Luna?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy, I haven't seen one." Luna put a slice of pie on one of the smaller plates Neville handed her and got up to give it to him. "Here, you need something to eat. I thought you were going to come in and get your dinner."

"I was, but I thought I saw a Tith-tithering Nockle Dramson outside my study window." He took a bite and nodded appreciatively. "Good pie, Luna. In any case, I had to stay by the window in case it came back. But it didn't."

"Oh." Luna looked disappointed for a second. "Oh well, I'm sure it'll come back sometime," she added, brightening again. "They can't possibly stay invisible forever."

Xenophilius grinned over his shoulder as he headed back to his study. "That's right. Just have to be patient."

As soon as he was gone, everyone's eyes went to Luna. "What was that about?" Ron demanded.

"A Tith-tithering Nockle Dramson," Luna explained patiently, "has the head and neck of a giraffe, the body and tail of a fish, and the legs of a cheetah, which is probably why Daddy wasn't sure if he saw it or not- they're very fast. They're also amphibious and happen to have a cold-blooded body and warm-blooded legs and head. In other words, they're quite the hybrid creature, and we would love to study one."

Hermione shook her head. "Of course you would."

"Why wouldn't they?" Neville countered, sending the best glare he could manage at her. "They sound interesting."

"Because they don't exist, Neville."

"How do you know?"

"Can you prove they do?" Hermione shot back. Neville had no answer to this.

"Can _you_ prove they don't?" Luna supplied. Hermione had no answer to this.

Harry cleared his throat. "Let's forget Titherson-whatever-you-call-it-"

"Tith-tithering Nockle Dramson," Luna corrected.

"Whatever. Forget that for now. Most of us aren't scientists."

"Except for me and Luna and Hermione," Padma pointed out. "So that's almost half."

"Luna and Hermione and me," said Hermione in a tone of patient exasperation.

"Let's forget both those and everything to do with factions until tomorrow," Parvati suggested. "We've had quite enough serious talk for one evening."

"One more thing," Hermione put in. "Let's meet up in Amity on visiting day. Agreed?" Everyone nodded. "All right, motion passed."

Parvati rolled her eyes, though her smile ruined her attempt to look annoyed. "Now we do what we always do after our meetings and play Spoons." She gave Hermione a pointed look. "All-in-favor-forget-voting-we-don't-need-it-motion-passed."

"Excuse me," Hermione interjected, "but you can't pass a motion no one's voted on."

"No one cares, Hermione!" declared Harry, Ron, and Parvati.

"Oh, honestly!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "You three are impossible. I'll get the spoons."


End file.
